Winter service dress trousers : Flight Lieutenant B J Mattingley, 460 Squadron RAAF

RAAF blue officer's wool barathea winter service dress trousers. The trousers have a concealed six button fly, with single button closure at the waist, and six buttons around the outside of the waistband for the attachment of braces. All buttons are of black plastic. The waistband is slightly raised and notched at the back and lined with striped blue, brown and cream cotton twill, and coarse brown linen inter lining. There are pockets in each side seam with white cotton twill bags.

A black woven manufacturer's label, 'M.TX' (for the Commonwealth Government Clothing Factory) is sewn inside the back waist. 'P/O MATTINGLEY' is written in ink on one of the pocket bags.On the inside of each cuff a small strip of black leather has been sewn into the back to prevent wear from the heels

Worn by 432530 Flight Lieutenant Brian John Mattingley, who was born in Launceston, Tasmania in October 1914.

A teacher at the Armidale School in New South Wales, Mattingley enlisted in the militia on 9 July 1941. He was allocated the service number N276471 and served as a private in the legal section of Headquarters 2nd Australian Army. He was discharged on 1 January 1943.

Mattingley joined the RAAF in Sydney the next day. Accepted as a candidate for air crew he undertook training at Mt Gambier and at the Air Gunnery School at West Sale in Victoria, before transferring to 2 Air Navigation School at Nhill on 18 October 1943. After graduation and commissioning as a pilot officer he embarked from Sydney for England on 12 December 1943, arriving there at the end of January 1944.

Mattingley was posted to 460 Squadron RAAF on 9 May 1944 and promoted to flying officer. Between October 1944 and March 1945 he completed 36 operational sorties over Germany in Lancaster bombers. In 1945 he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for completing 'numerous operations against the enemy, in the course of which he has invariably displayed the utmost fortitude, courage and devotion to duty.'

Mattingley was promoted to flight lieutenant shortly before he returned to Australia at the beginning of 1946, and was discharged in February. He returned to teaching at the Armidale School, retiring in 1979 to Tasmania, where he was ordained as an Anglican priest. Brian John Mattingley died in 2005.